Vedhoggar

Wearing a pair now, definitely a winter glove, they are made in Sweden and have 3M Thinsulate lining, they are advertised as a thermal water proof glove and are the only glove that seems to keep my hands warm when very cold, they do get a bit damp at times I find but still reasonably warm, got Ejendals Tegera model 295 but going to the try a cheaper similar model add by Ejendals which have Velcro cuff as will keep sawdust out better. Haven’t tried them climbing., using them on very cold days chainsawing on ground and operating firewood machinery. The 295 model is a close fitting glove and a size up from normal probably the best fit. Not sure how long the goatskin palms will last but comfortable and nice to wear on cold days.

The cost quoted for seasoned firewood looks like it is at lower end of the price of logs although it states it is an average price, also price quoted is for 'seasoned' wood not kiln-dried wood which would be more expensive, kiln-dried wood just has to be <20% which is achievable through natural drying but some kiln-dried wood sold does have a lower moisture content.

Talking to someone who has been monitoring gas and electricity costs at a number of properties as part of his job he informs me that electric at the properties he is monitoring is actually more expensive than gas, Sept - Nov last year it was 15p/kWH + 26p standing charge at one property and gas April to Sept 4.5p/kWH + 30p/day standing charge, then in December 5p/kWH so it looks like if heating with electricity before forecast price rises wood a cheaper option per kWH but not gas however gas looks like it may a some point be more expensive than what some are charging for firewood logs at the moment but firewood prices are also likely to increase because of inflation. Costs for small sized fixed business prices not domestic.

A 70% efficiency stove would be an older stove, many stoves now are 80-90% efficiency and one I know over 90%. The other things the consider are how long a gas boiler is going to last before it needs to be replace, which I think is about 10 years, whereas most wood stoves will last much longer than that, also if electric goes off and you are dependant on either gas or electric you have no heating whereas with a dry stove you have heating and with some you can at least heat something up on the hot plate, with a wet stove you would of course need a generator to keep the pump going. Those that have time to source their own wood or have access to free wood and time to process it are not going to be much affected I would have thought by the increase in domestic energy costs. We are self-sufficient in woodfuel (cut and process it ourselves) and can only heat the house with wood and heat the domestic hot water with wood too and with exception of shower, we can cook/heat food on stove too and wouldn't have it any other way.

Sounds like a very competitive price. Just put my rate up by 5% althoughI know inflation is set to to rise to 7% then drop to 6% but inflation rates are not the same for everyone, I'm not going to lock myself into a set price next winter as I have in the past. I basically look at operating cost add 15-20% net profit then compare with local going rate to see if still a competitive price and take it from there, I don't have a set price though but rather quote a price depending on location, easy of delivery and quality. Not going for Woodsure just going to sell 2m3 loose loads to domestic customers, the 2m3 rule only applies to woodfuel for domestic as I understand it so presumably not pubs, restaurants and those running holiday cottages I delivery to.

It's quite an easy calculation actually but cost per kWh will depend on species of wood, moisture content and price of logs. By my calculation the price of logs (ca. 25cm long split) would have to be <£80/m3 loose to be at 7p/kWH, for example beech at 20% MC sold at £80/m3 loose would be 6.8p/kWH, birch 7.6p/kWH whereas beech at 16.7% MC would be cheaper than gas at 6.5p/kWH and birch same price at 7p/kWH if that were the price of gas (and electricity I believe is will be about the same price).

Note Cleveland Containers and Cleveland Site Safe are different companies supplying a different product.

Cleveland Site Safe do very good security buildings and lockups of all shapes and sizes and are built to last. Never had a theft from them and don’t insure equipment instead spend some of the money that I would have spent on insurance on security. Location not isolated with someone living on site which helps although we have had a garage broken into in the past which wasn’t very secure as well as equipment stolen while working away from base.

Boots are very much a personal choice of course but have a look at Protector Ultra 2.0 GTX and the Trekker Mountain 2.0, the Protector Light is not as high a boot/not as rugged and the Protector Pro is a higher leg boot so going to restrict movement a bit I would have thought. The Protector Forest 2.1 GTX and Alpin seem more ridgid boots designed more with forestry use in mind I would have thought, in particular the Alpin but I might be wrong. I’m into my fourth pair of Trekker Mountain boots, they suit my feet, seem a good around boot, keep my feet dry and comfortable to wear all day almost every day. Never tried any of the other boots but have seen the Protector Light and Protector Ultra 2.0 GTX worn by climbers. I don’t climb much myself these days but never had a problem climbing in the Trekker Mountain boot which are particular comfortable for spiking in I find.

Best option would be to thank the client for contacting you but say that you are not interested in taking on the work proposed as the trees are too old to pollard/reduce in size as proposed and if every other tree were to be removed because the trees have all grown up to together the remaining trees are going to be more susceptible to storm damage. If the trees pose an unacceptable risk of harm then they ought to be removed if not they should left for the time being and regularly inspected. Best to not get involved in jobs like this and save your reputation in my view.

Just to add Rock have now processors in stock with the hydraulic saw (12T & 20T) but they are still not legal to road tow and it is not easy to convert them.

Yeh, some start out with an axe and before they know it have bought a whole load more kit and run a firewood business! On processors check out Norwegian company Wee.no they sell processors which are obviously from the same factory as Rock machines but 4 of the models they sell have hydraulic saw function instead of manual leaver on the current Rock machines. Go to Wee.no - Landbruk og Skogsdrift - Skogsutstyr - Vedmaskin. They can be found also on Youtube.

When trees blow over they often throw up soil, stones/grit onto the lower trunk which will take the edge off your chain/damage it. A chisel chain will not hold its edge as good as a semi-chisel chain but cuts faster when sharp. Scots pine is relative easy to cut compared with most hardwoods. It is normal to give the cutters a few strokes every time you fill up but if cutters get damaged they are not going to hold a sharp edge for long until you get past the damage, some run 2 or 3 chains at a time on one saw. I normally spend a few minutes clearing away best I can soil/grit/small stones where I make a cut as sharpening a chain takes much longer also watch out for stones thrown up lying at the side of the trunk which you may hit. Your local chainsaw dealer would be able to supply you with chain and provide advice some have ready made up chains and some will also have it on the roll.

If off the ground, in a location were sun and wind can get at it plus under cover come autumn it should be dry enough to burn winter 2022/23. If outside covered with a tarp, tarp just want to cover the top. If putting it into a log shed before seasoned that the shed will need to have slatted sides to allow airflow other wise it will go mouldy. We have larch which was felled winter 2021 then cut/split into 0.50m billets and stacked on pallets then top covered at end of summer with tarp and is down to 15% moisture content now. We also have some Scots pine cut August 2020 which is 16-18% moisture content now, this was split and outside until autumn 2021 when it was brought into a shed, we had a bit of a problem drying it - it was initially cut and split into 50cm billets shortly after felling in 2020 and stacked on pallets but not covered during autumn/winter 2021 and some of it got quite wet but was ready to burn this winter after it had been in a shed a short while. I think also because the pine was felled in the summer the moisture content was higher than it would have been if winter felled as was the case with the larch.

That’ll be collect price Doug is it?

A wake up call to us all Mark to not over do it ... hope recovery goes well for you. Invested in a vertical splitter a few years back myself to breakdown wood into manageable pieces.

Softwood: pine, spruce and larch Hardwood: poplar Well seasoned <18% MC and preferably knot free sections/small knots. Poplar is particular good I find when well seasoned and very easy to split if no knots.

What length of log are you cutting?

Volume of split logs (for 33cm long log) if 20t lorry load would convert into about 36m3 split loose logs and if 25t about 45m3 loose split logs (less % of waste dependant on straightness of logs and knots). Price at roadside say not less than £55/t.

Stubby, are two posted one with image and one without.

I wouldn't have thought that there would be a problem, if in future when the stumps have rotted away if any holes left they could be filled in with soil or some other material and compacted. Check for nesting birds during bird nesting season before undertaking cutting then down.

I have had my iPhone in a Lifeproof case for years and the phone is like new inside, the case is drop proof, dirt proof, water proof and you can attach a lanyard to it. Lifeproof cases are similar to the Otterbox case which has been mentioned. Not cheap but I drop my phone regularly, it gets covered in dust and very wet at times too, without it the the phone wouldn’t have survived very long and the phone camera works fine with case on.

Apparently it is not yet known if the pathogen is the cause of symptoms seen on trees or if something else but as things stand restrictions on movement in Cumbria are due to come into force on 26 Nov.

There is plant health movement notice over a large part of Cumbria because the disease has unfortunately been located in the area but don’t where … definitely a restriction on the movement though of Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Pine and Tanoak (didn’t know there was any in Cumbria).

Probably not in UK but could be wrong, Tanoak is a different genus to oak but has an acorn like fruit too.